


Seven Heartbeats

by bonibaru



Category: Smallville
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-10 19:03:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10445124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonibaru/pseuds/bonibaru
Summary: The Samurai believed that no decision should last longer than the time it takes for seven heartbeats.





	

Lex dreams of horses and hounds. 

Sometimes he’s in Metropolis. The dogs dart in and out of crowds milling on the sidewalk, citizens so jaded that a foxhunt on Main Street barely warrants the blink of an eye. On occasion, mounted police ride ahead of him to clear the way. But if he asks anyone if they’ve seen his quarry, they just shake their heads in silence and wave him on.

Tonight it’s the Kent farm they ride, and Lex feels his throat tighten as the ghostly images of dead cows flicker in and out in the field around him. The horse doesn’t seem to notice or care. But Lex does.

A flash of red breaks cover and dashes across the pale meadow, a blazing streak in the fading sunlight. Lex thinks it should be a fox, but he’s not certain. He’s never actually seen it clearly. It moves too fast for the eye to focus, as fast as the blur on the museum tape he’s watched until his eyes are nearly crossed from the strain. 

All he knows for sure, in that strange way of dreams, is that all his questions will be answered if he can just catch up to it.

He feels the horse surge under him, hears the cry of the hounds as they take up the fresh scent. His ears fill with the sound of hooves pounding like thunder. They plunge into a cornfield, and when a clod of earth churns up from below and bounces off his ribs, Lex feels himself tense with sense memory: the smell of plowed-up earth and burning corn, the feel of dirt in his nose, ears, throat, eyes. For a moment he can’t see, can’t hear, can’t breathe. Then they’re out of the corn and heading for the woods.

The hounds are just ahead of him, the horse gallops right on their heels. But they aren’t quite fast enough to catch up to the elusive trickster.

They’re never fast enough.

For the briefest of moments Lex sees a flash of the red streak again just before it breaches the safety of the tree line and disappears.

He canters to the edge of the meadow as the hounds lope off into the trees. They’ve lost the scent, he supposes, because they’re quiet now, energy focused on tracking rather than chasing. They’ll find the track again, he knows. They always do, and then off he’ll go again. The chase doesn’t end until he wakes up, and it never ends with any answers.

The forest floor is dappled with patterns from the leaves and the setting sunlight, confusing shadows, perfect camouflage. He curses softly under his breath. On the other side of the woods is the river, and if it takes to the water, they’ve lost it for sure.

He catches a sudden flash of red in the corner of his vision, completely out of place in these trees, and changes course in the blink of an eye. The horse tosses her head in protest, but obediently pushes through a rough thicket and he sees – 

Red sweater, blue jeans, wind-tossed black curls, cheeks rosy and flushed with the chill of approaching night. Clark sits on a mossy outcropping of rock, still as stone. Clark doesn’t look at him. The horse flattens her ears, and snorts. But Clark’s eyes remain fixed on a point in the distance. Yellow leaves are fluttering softly around him in a golden shower. Lex is just enough on the brink of wakefulness to remind himself to remember and appreciate the image at some point in the course of his day.

"Fancy meeting you here," Lex says.

Ghost of a smile plays at the corner of Clark’s lips, but he says nothing, only nods.

"You didn’t happen to see a fox go by here," Lex murmurs, almost to himself.

"Sorry, no," Clark answers.

Lex dismounts. He approaches Clark slowly but stops just short of the rock. Clark has yet to look at him. Golden leaves grind to dust under the heel of his black leather riding boots.

"What are you looking for?" Clark asks.

"Answers," Lex replies. But he realizes with a start that he doesn’t know the questions, any more. Clark’s sweater shifts suddenly, pale white, to sky blue, then back to red. He has birch leaves in his hair. If he could look any more beautiful, Lex would be quoting sonnets on his knees.

"You think this chase will get you the answers you want?" Clark holds his gaze, and Lex imagines for a second that a flicker of gold passes across Clark’s eyes. A trick of the sunset, perhaps, of lengthening shadow.

"Why does it run?" Lex replies. "I’m not going to hurt it. I just need to know - " he stops himself, shakes his head. He's not really sure, even, what he needs to know. But something. _Why does it run, if it has nothing to hide._

"You should leave the dogs at home," Clark admonishes him. "You’ve probably frightened him half to death. Try just you, for once."

Somewhere off in the trees the dogs start up again. _They’re on it now,_ Lex thinks, but he isn’t ready to go just yet.

Clark tilts his head, and his face falls into shadow. Another flicker of gold, or is that Lex’s imagination? "I’m sure that’s it. You’ve only frightened him, made him run from you, made him have to hide. Call off your dogs, Lex. Maybe he’d rather come to you, but you haven’t given him the chance."

Lex considers this for a moment, and when Clark raises his head again, Lex can’t suppress a smile.

Clark is suddenly on his feet, and takes a step toward Lex. "You didn’t answer my question. Why the chase?"

"Because it’s cunning," Lex says. "It keeps outsmarting me. No one outsmarts me. It’s a puzzle for me to solve."

Clark shakes his head and smiles. The movement slips the golden leaves from his hair and shoulders. "No. That’s the answer from your head, Lex, but not from your heart. You chase it because it’s beautiful, and you want it." 

Not as beautiful as Clark is at this moment, Lex thinks.

"And you want it, because it’s free."

Lex opens his mouth to comment on how trite his dream dialogue has become lately, but what comes out is something else. "Free," Lex whispers. "I don’t know what that’s like."

"Let it go," Clark says, "let it come to you on its own, and you’ll know."

Lex looks down. "Not now," he says, "I can’t, not when I’m so close. I won’t fail. I can’t afford to. I have to know."

"Letting it go isn’t failure, Lex." A step brings him closer. Blue eyes wide, so innocent, so open. "It’s love."

Hands soft and strong on his shoulders pulling him closer. Wonder blossoms in Lex’s chest. Clark’s eyes are fixed on his and he can’t look away. .

Somewhere behind him, Lex knows the castle waits for him. Golden light glows warm and inviting from the windows. There’s a warm fire crackling in the great room. It beckons, asks him to forego the quest, come home to comfort. Dinner, wine, and a soft bed too big for one alone. He’s afraid to ask, afraid of _No_. 

"Take me," Clark whispers, "take me with you," and Lex wavers. Breathes in the scent of distant smoke and dry leaves.

The hounds bellow, a sudden, hollow, sound, shattering the quietude of the forest. _When did they get so close?_ Lex wonders. Then realizes, it’s here – it’s right here. It’s probably watching them right now. He stiffens, starts to pull away. The horse prances, tugs at her reins. So close now. If he can just - 

The hands holding him tighten. "No," Clark pleads, his eyes imploring. Those _are_ gold flickers winking in and out, Lex is sure of it now. Green to gold, yellow eyes, animal eyes. Alien eyes. "Call them off. Lex. Please. Let it go." And Lex looks into Clark’s eyes, and suddenly sees a glimmer of truth.

Something like joy touches his heart.

"Come", he breathes. "Come home with me."

A sudden dream shift and they’re back at the castle, Clark’s skin golden in the firelight, his lips burning brands into Lex’s neck, hair tangled wildly in Lex’s hands. They tumble on the floor. Lex doesn’t even wonder where his clothes went, but he thinks the horse might be in the kitchen. Then Clark suddenly has all his attention again as -

The ringing of the phone brutally jars Lex awake. Fumbling for the phone, he checks the caller ID on the lighted display. _Kent, Jonathan._ He pushes the button. Not sure he can actually speak yet, but that ringing sound is like an ice pick through his head.

"Lex?"

“Clark.” Fumbling for the clock in the dark. “Do you know what time it is?”

"I need – we need to talk. Can I see you?"

“Now?” Blinking, he can barely make out the clock display. “It’s four in the morning.”

"Now. Please, Lex. I - I can’t do this over the phone."

 _Please, Lex._ The words echo faintly in Lex’s waking mind. _Let it go._

The Samurai believed that every decision should be made in the time it takes for seven heartbeats. 

For Lex, it takes only one.


End file.
